
Latest Articles about The Caucasus

Authorities Play Down Consecutive Explosions Near FSB Headquarters in Moscow
On March 11, two explosions took place in northern Moscow about 5-10 minutes apart. The bombs reportedly contained 0.3-0.4 kg of TNT along with fragments of nails to cause injuries. No one was hurt since the bombs detonated early in the evening, when there were... MORE

Kabardino-Balkaria’s “Black Hawks:” Grassroots Vigilantes or FSB Surrogates?
Over the past month or so, the Russian media have been very actively reporting on the creation of an anti-Wahhabi paramilitary unit operating on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria in response to the actions of insurgents against members of law enforcement agencies. It has been also... MORE

Insurgency-Related Violence in the North Caucasus Causes Over 50 Deaths Last Month
Statistics on insurgency-related violence in the North Caucasus in February show that most of the violence was concentrated in the republics of Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria. Kavkazsky Uzel reported this week that 59 people were killed as a result of insurgency-related violence in the North Caucasus... MORE

The Geneva Process: A Balance Sheet Since The Russia-Georgia War (Part Two)
Two and a half years into the armistice and fifteen rounds into the Geneva implementation talks (“Georgia & The Geneva Process: A Balance Sheet Since The 2008 War,” EDM, March 10), the Geneva process seems to be leading nowhere.The armistice agreements remain unimplemented in all... MORE

Frozen Conflict Paradigm Persists in the Geneva Process (Part One)
In October 2008, two months after Russia’s invasion of Georgia, a diplomatic process was launched in Geneva to implement the armistice agreements signed on August 12 and September 8 that year. Two and a half years later, the fifteenth round of negotiations concluded in Geneva... MORE

Armenian President Faces New Opposition Offensive
Armenia’s President Serzh Sarksyan has warded off potential challenges from his predecessor Robert Kocharian but is now facing mounting street protests organized by another former president, Levon Ter-Petrosian. Buoyed by the ongoing wave of anti-government uprisings in the Arab world, Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK)... MORE

Russian Security Services Launch Wave of Arrests in Ingushetia After Moscow Airport Bombing
On March 4, Russia’s security services reported they managed to kill one of the leaders of Ingushetia’s insurgency, 30 year old Khamzat Korigov. Initially, the government sources said Korigov had detonated a bomb when the security agents surrounded him in Ingushetia’s principal town, Nazran. Later,... MORE

Karabakh Conflict Still Awaits its Breakthrough Moment
The March 5 meeting in Sochi between the Armenian, Azerbaijan and Russian presidents, Serj Sarksyan, Ilham Aliyev and Dmitry Medvedev, respectively, resulted in a joint declaration, but once again failed to produce the much-expected breakthrough on the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. This was the... MORE

Moscow Under Pressure to Make Decisive Moves in the Northwest Caucasus
On March 1, a blast destroyed the home of a suspect militant, Eduard Ulbashev, in Kabardino-Balkaria’s Chegem district. One day earlier, on February 28, Ulbashev himself was killed in a shootout with the police. Government forces reported that two explosive devices equal to 25 kilograms... MORE

Rebel Leader Calls for Widened War while Top Russian Politico Backs Anti-Rebel Vigilantes
Doku Umarov, the “emir” of the rebel Caucasus Emirate, released a video statement that was posted to YouTube on March 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNNE28XYSAQ&feature=player_embedded). A Russian translation of the video was posted on the rebel Kavkaz Center website on March 3.In the video, Umarov extols the virtues... MORE